Cumberland County deputies make more arrests in raids of sweepstakes cafes

Thursday

Mar 28, 2013 at 12:01 AMMar 28, 2013 at 7:42 AM

Caitlin Dineenand Paul Woolverton Staff writers

As Cumberland County deputies proceeded Wednesday with the second day of a crackdown on illegal sweepstakes cafes, five people arrested on Tuesday had their first court appearance and an industry leader said North Carolina should legalize the games.

The cafes provide a social outlet akin to bingo parlors, which are legal, said Chase Brooks, president of the Internet Based Sweepstakes Operators organization.

"Our industry, they try to make it this 'big, bad industry' with all this bad element about it," Brooks said. "It's very hard when 80 percent of our customers are women, 80 percent of those are over 40, and our end customers are your mothers and grandmothers."

Brooks, of Alamance County, said the national casino industry is behind legislation and law enforcement efforts to put the sweepstakes outlets out of business. The casinos wrongly see local storefront gambling cafes as competition, Brooks said.

Regardless of the forces behind the sweepstakes cafes' woes, North Carolina lawmakers and other leaders who dislike gambling have battled them for years at the legislature and in court. A state Supreme Court ruling upheld North Carolina's ban in December, and city and county law enforcement in Cumberland County began enforcement Tuesday.

Five people who were arrested Tuesday appeared before District Court Judge Tal Baggett on Wednesday afternoon. They were Larry Freeman, Jennifer Jones, Victoria Page, Justin Freeman and Richard Lane.

They face various misdemeanor and felony charges, including electronic sweepstakes, operating or possessing a slot machine and continuing a criminal enterprise.

The felonies are punishable with up to two years in prison, Baggett said, and the misdemeanors carry penalties of up to 120 days.

The defendants said they would hire their own lawyers. Their next court date is scheduled for April 16.

The five declined to comment when leaving the courtroom after Baggett advised them not to discuss the particulars of the case with anyone other than their attorneys. They were visibly upset.

Ronnie Mitchell, the sheriff's lawyer, said the business owners and employees arrested Tuesday should not feel targeted. Other arrests are expected, he said, and four more search warrants were executed Wednesday.

"You just can't do them all at the same time," Mitchell said.

Four more people were charged Wednesday.

Too late to shut down

After the Supreme Court upheld North Carolina's ban, some sweepstakes operators closed. But others stayed open, saying they changed their games to ensure they complied with state laws. Cumberland County law enforcement officials reviewed that claim for nearly three months before beginning their crackdown.

At one location Tuesday, the Sheriff's Office seized old-school video poker machines, which have been illegal for years, Butler said.

Operators that shut down now because of the enforcement action are too late to save themselves from arrest, Mitchell said. The Sheriff's Office has a list of who remained open despite the ban, and they could be charged.

Some business owners have hired lawyers and have contacted the Sheriff's Office, Mitchell said. He said that may affect their case.

"They may be able to obtain assistance," he said. "Those cases (will be) determined by the district attorney on a case-by-case basis."

January enforcement

While Cumberland County officials delayed enforcement, other southeastern North Carolina agencies opted to enforce the ban in January.

On Jan. 8, Jon David, the district attorney for Bladen, Columbus and Brunswick counties, sent a memo to law enforcement saying the law was clear and enforcement should begin immediately.

"In doing so, the legislature determined that the social costs associated with gambling far outweigh the economic benefit derived from the industry," the memo said.

Capt. Rodney Hester with the Bladen County Sheriff's Office said it appears that most Bladen County sweepstakes businesses have voluntarily closed.

Those that haven't are known to officials and could face prosecution, he said.

"I think pretty much everyone in the county has shut down except for him," Hester said.

Law enforcement officials are keeping track of local businesses to make sure they stay closed or are forced shut, he said.

Brooks, the leader of the sweepstakes operators group, said he closed his cafes in Alamance and Guilford counties when the ban took effect in January. He said he laid off 40 to 50 people.

Statewide, there were roughly 1,000 sweepstakes operators employing about 6,000 people before the Supreme Court ruling, industry spokesman Brad Crone said. He estimated that 75 percent to 80 percent shut down since, putting 4,000 to 5,000 people out of work.

Their jobs had been on borrowed time for two years - North Carolina's ban passed in 2010, but an industry lawsuit seeking to overturn the law put it in hiatus until the Supreme Court ruling in December.

The industry's only hope has been for the legislature to accept its request to be regulated and taxed, Crone said. But there are too many liberal Democrats and socially conservative Republicans in the legislature, both of whom oppose gambling, for that to happen, Crone said.

Day 2 arrests

Jorge Santiago Perez, 32, of the 600 block of Abbotts Park Drive in Fayetteville, was charged Wednesday with two counts of misdemeanor operating or possessing a gambling device.

Keith Lambert Graham, 54, of the 2500 block of Cumberland Creek Drive in Fayetteville, was charged Wednesday with two counts of misdemeanor operating or possessing gambling devices.

Michael Hagens, 45, of the 5900 block of Maidstone Lane in Hope Mills, was charged Wednesday with two counts of misdemeanor operating or possessing gambling devices and operating five or more video gaming machines.

Woodrow Inman Jr., 55, of the 3000 block of Piney Mountain Drive in Hope Mills, was charged Wednesday with two counts of misdemeanor operating or possessing gambling devices and operating five or more video gaming devices.

All four men were released on $1,000 unsecured bonds and are scheduled to appear in Cumberland County District Court on Thursday.

Staff writer Caitlin Dineen can be reached at Dineenc@fayobserver.com or 486-3509. Staff writer Paul Woolverton can be reached at woolvertonp@fayobserver.com or 486-3512.

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